Lucid Truth - 9. Blood And Stone

ESCALATION

"The next threat arrives unforeseen, with guarded balance turning instead to rising crisis."

-o-0-O-0-o-

The very moment Admiral Yasir Lugor heard the tactical officer's voice and saw the incoming notification appear directly before him, he understood the deadly peril he faced, and the depths to which they had all been deceived.

In that single microcosm of time, it was plain to him.

Layer upon layer of duplicity.

Ahead was the primary swarm of Disciples and Emissaries, now turned away from Kerensky's diversion, fully roused and focused, and approaching aggressively.

Beneath were the 'bomb' vessels and their escorts, his fighter corps racing to eliminate them.

And, now, the real trap.

On the remaining three sides of the lateral plane -- in relative spatial terms to the left, right, and behind -- had arrived the true ambush.

The tac scan solidified the numbers, the bridge holoview updating with a full accounting of what had arrived.

Apostles.

Previously absent from the invasion, even when their presence might have been used to great effect, the enemy capital class vessels had appeared in their entirety.

A score or two past seven thousand.

The strategic view was filled with them. Not fully uniform in size, but matching the biggest human warships, the Apostles were still only slightly less agile than their smaller counterparts. Each was the same uneven deep blue-grey, and bristling with many heavier weapons; projectile mounts that shot bigger, faster, more piercing spines.

They were already in motion from the second of their appearance, and there was almost no time at all to choose his next course of action.

He knew this was a crucial flashpoint, perhaps the most crucial one of the war in space.

Even as the communication channels exploded into a flurry of agitated and desperate messages, and the voices of the admiralty and fleet command were overlaid in rapid burble seeking to avert outright disaster, Lugor could think only of the moment, and what he had to do.

He was focused in a way he had never been before, and he applied his mind with the utmost speed, his mental augmentation pushed to the maximum.

The calculus was at once utterly simple, but also unavoidably not.

The goal of the operation was no longer to inflict losses, but to evade them.

Of the six primary axial directions, his fleet was now blocked on five: both X and Y axes, and surfaceward on the Z axis. The only unobstructed passage was 'up', away from Earth.

Into open space, where they would be no safer.

Jumping away to escape was also problematic, for two very specific reasons.

The first was that a destination point too close to the planet would risk any vessel suffering from what was called 'catastrophic locative realignment failure' by military physicists. As distance decreased to the Earth's gravity well, the chances of critical flaws appearing increased dramatically. Any sufficiently massive gravity source would do the same, producing minute errors in the spatial conduit as the vessel was exiting it. It was a persistent problem that existed alongside the other inherent dangers humans had not been able to solve when manipulating gravity.

The conduit's errors would cause a fractional timing delay for different parts of the object performing the jump. Severity depended on the size of the interfering mass and how close it was, but the result was never good; it went from serious structural deformity and gruesome crew injuries, to vessels outright exploding on arrival.

The second reason was that it was simply too soon. The original plan intended for the Fourth Fleet to retreat using regular propulsion, because the cooldown time for jumping again would not be finished before it was needed. Even the most modern jump drives in his fleet were not ready, and wouldn't be for precious seconds yet.

Though, there was one option that was better than nothing: the emergency jump.

There was a minimum threshold for attempting it -- 40% charged -- and although it wouldn't necessarily cause any violent endings, it did have a highly increased chance of overloading the propulsion and reactor systems, causing engine damage and primary power failure.

All of this Lugor was well aware of.

It took him just three seconds to commit the first order, and he hit the non-verbal quick code, with no care nor time to explain himself to anyone present.

The command spread to the fleet in a near instantaneous ripple of data.

Auto-RTR dest. Luna-F27-3. All non-fighter vessels able to commit emergency jump to immediately disengage and execute prescribed coordinates.

In a blink, an entire fifth of Lugor's fleet vanished, many with projectiles streaking from now empty positions.

The second order was an obvious follow-on from the first. Lugor's mind was flying at a thousand miles a second through the conceptual landscape, his ears deafened to the voices of the commander, Kerensky, Jiang, and those with them.

Every second, even half or quarter second, mattered.

All fighter vessels to kill-commit on kamikaze explosive ships; then RTR dest. 3F-SF, flag transfer FAdm Jiang.

If his fighters survived, then that was something.

But, that was the extent of his tactical flexibility, and the jaws of the beast were closing.

The initial projectiles were already incoming, the three enormous surrounding clusters of Apostles moving at a speed that was not much less than the quicksilver pace of the Disciple.

The third order was not so simple.

Lugor knew when he gave it, just as he had known from that first horrifying moment, how this was going to end for him, personally.

Yet, for every man and woman serving under him: the more that escaped alive, the better off Earth's defenders would be.

Even if he would not witness it.

Vaguely, Kerensky's voice was exclaiming in the background of his mental notice, the Russian admiral's own fleet pushing desperately -- but fruitlessly -- into the newly exposed rear of the Disciple swarm.

So close, and still so far: the simple stretch of space between them filled with a cold hell of calculated alien malevolence.

All remaining ships of class medium destroyer and lighter to break formation, then RTR split on closest initial vector; 45,60 or 315,60. Flank RTR dest. any friendly cover. Fire to suppress.

With that, the bulk of what was remaining -- gunships, frigates, destroyers, combat support vessels -- jolted into movement. At some sixty percent of the assault force, the departing were the middle-line ships, and they divided along the commanded vectors. With engines hot and well prepared for a speedy retreat, they shot 'up' and to either side of the incoming Disciples. Departing on twin diagonal angles, they sought to flee from and avoid the encirclement, and thereafter follow a curving arc toward the surface and nearer the Second Fleet.

Those ships had a high enough maximum speed to attempt to flee, though it was likely the majority would be caught and killed en route by one, or multiple, of the surrounding forces before they even got halfway.

They had to try.

Then, the fourth order.

The last one he would give.

All that was left were the heavier destroyers and cruisers, and the handful of large warships at the fleet's core; too slow, too big, too valuable as targets.

They were not getting out of this.

With a gesture, Lugor cut his communications with the admiralty, and implemented the non-verbal fleet command.

He didn't want his peers to see his image when it occurred.

The direction was chosen at random between the 'left' and 'right' groups of Apostles, with the computational coin flip happening to land on 'left'.

All remaining ships, no exceptions, flank speed vector 90,0. Fire at will; no RTR.

Together, in a synchronicity that made him proud, the remnants of the Fourth Fleet turned at a sharp ninety degrees, and accelerated into the nearest crowd of enemy battleships.

Finally, time seemed to resume its regular speed, the necessity for focus dropping away now that everything was in motion.

There were no more decisions to be made, though he was not at ease.

Before him was a sea of monsters, and a flickering mess of flying daggers, aimed at the hearts of every human who accompanied him.

In response, the glowing lines of human projectiles, the streaking of rail fire, surged forth. Striking through the first of hundreds of Apostles, the counter was but a flash of light before an unstoppable darkened tide of foes.

Midway through the last couple dozen seconds, Admiral Lugor dismissed the forward view of what was incoming.

It no longer mattered anyhow, and he didn't want to watch it.

Instead, there was simply a picture of the Earth.

Home.

He refused to take his eyes off it, even as the hull of his command cruiser juddered, the adamantine spears shredding through the thickened armour in an intensifying deathly hail.

He would leave on his own terms.

The last thought he had -- as he stared at the African continent and the land he joined the fleet to protect, the bridge's alarms blaring in warning of imminent reactor breach -- was that he had one regret.

It was that he would not live to see humanity win.

Then, the deck under his feet trembled, and there was nothing but ...

... light and fire.

-o-0-O-0-o-

Our return to the desert planet was the first jump in a while that didn't have a sense of urgency and danger attached to it. The Herald was now encased inside the event horizon of a supermassive black hole, there to spend eternity being crushed, atom by atom, into the singularity. Forever dying, and forever unable to change anything outside of the instance of time and space in which it was frozen.

So it was that we reappeared at the planet where we had left the others. My boy and I were taking a break together on one of the bridge benches, while Elia was piloting the vessel in Mira's stead. Yugan let us be and merely looked on, effectively amusing himself with that same calm and collected attitude that seemed typical of the Mishith.

For a minute, at least, we were allowed to rest.

Any chance at prolonged relaxation was quickly done away with though, because we were only seconds into our arrival and Yugan was speaking, the quantum prediction informing him.

"It seems they have made a discovery," he intoned. "We are about to hear of it."

Right on cue, Elia accepted an incoming voice communication from the surface.

"Since you're alone, I'm gonna assume that giant cockroach has been dealt with?" It was Ayize's conversational humour. "Please tell me it isn't about to show up behind you, like it's playing some weird interstellar game of peekaboo."

"It can no longer threaten us, nor any others," Yugan replied. "You may consider it dead."

"Consider it? Do you mean it isn't actually? What, like, partially dead? Dismembered? Catatonic?" The African's response was a little confused, but he brushed it away. "Nevermind. I'd like to hear about what happened, but that can wait. I think we've found your missing half, the 'stone' that you were searching for. I'd say more, but you should just come down here and see for yourself."

Oh! They've located whatever Dagen left behind for us on this world? The missing piece of what Yugan was after to change whatever the Sundering did -- what was it again, the 'foundation of stone'?

"This is welcome news. We will be with you very soon."

Waiting only a few seconds for Elia to settle our craft into a stable orbit, and for Mira and I to stand, Yugan activated the teleportation function, and with a blink of glimmering static, we were all sent down to the transport ship's interior on the planet surface.

The bridge of the larger vessel was in a similar style, but much wider, the planet surface visible out the forward view. All of those we left behind were present: Ayize, Rashid, Mikom, and Ralot, plus a half dozen other new adult Mishith. Ayize gave a cheery greeting, exactly as expected, while Mikom addressed us much more ceremonially and formally, and to start with, I wasn't sure why.

"Yugan, and the human friend Shay Andersen: we thank you for the defeat of the Enemy's champion. Surely this was a hard fought thing. In kind, we bring happy tidings. The other half of our ancestors is found, and we present them to you now. Just so."

The use of the Mishith word for 'them' instead of 'it' was surprising, and for a second, I thought my understanding was flawed and my absorbed knowledge of their language had been wrong.

But, then Mikom stepped to her left, and gesturing with both right arms, she revealed what was behind her.

There were standing three sculptures, almost identical and roughly four feet tall. The central masses were disc-shaped ovoids, though with thicker rounded sides, like a compressed sphere. Each was about two feet across, and maybe a foot and a half deep. Composed of a combination of what seemed to be different metallic and rocky types, the upper sides had a sprinkling of crystal growths across them, each different and unique, while the underneath was clean and unadorned.

From five points, in near perfect spacing around the circumference, extended structural braces to the floor. Around four or five inches thick from where they connected, down to three at the tips, these load-bearing pillars were hinged with two intermediate joints, segmenting them evenly into thirds. In their current configuration, the joints were only slightly bent, and not aligned straight, giving the appearance of lightly-curved adjustable legs. The impression was of an insectoid pentapod, standing at maximum height. Like the masses they were supporting, the legs were some mix of rock and metal, though they had a predominantly crystalline outer casing that sheathed a good portion of the surface.

My first thought was to wonder what the importance of these constructions was, and why we were being shown them, but that assumption immediately died as soon as the nearest moved on its own.

OH.

It's- ... or rather 'they are' ... alive?

With a gentle motion, the three lowered slightly, one after the other, the limbs settling into a more natural posture for walking. They began to approach, slow and careful, with a deliberation to it that reminded me of the unhurried particular motion of a sloth or tortoise. All five legs were finely coordinated, and though I couldn't tell mechanically how these beings were animating themselves, the gait was very stable and precise. There was the distinct feeling that if any of them needed to move more quickly, they probably could put in the effort to do so, but wouldn't bother unless forced.

The other half is another species!

I could only watch, completely amazed, as the trio ambled nearer to greet us, the new arrivals.

A species that isn't flesh and blood.

Instead, metal and rock.

"I am Yugan, Dagen's heir and leader of the Dagenith. I carry his personality with me." Yugan spoke, and he dipped his head, his ears respectfully low. "Long have I desired to find what the Sundering took from us. Long have I desired this meeting."

Light and a burst of electricity sparkled over the upper surface of the foremost of the three, the crystals seeming to resonate ever so slightly, producing an audible hum that changed pitch up and down. It was like pleasant soft music, but the AI quickly began to translate the blended sensory signals into words.

"We are the Energy of the Crystalline Glow. We are the Jzu Krrm." There was a pause, the 'speech' being further parsed, before it went on. "Many of ours sleep here, but we three are the chosen speakers."

"I am Vzzxax." The surface of the second being flickered and glowed, similar tones emitting like the first, as it introduced itself.

"I am Frrzmm." The third followed in turn.

"And I am Znnjzu." The lead Jzu Krrm spoke again. "Longer have I waited for Dagen to return. Longer still since we saw him depart to the stars and his death."

"You recall him?" It was Ralot who asked. "Were you alive when he left?"

"No. It was my creator's creator who was witness. They passed their memories to me, so I know what they knew. All Jzu Krrm on this world were sundered from Mishith in that time. All except my creator's creator. Dagen remained whole, but he spawned a new Jzu Krrm from his own stone before he departed. One that would carry his legacy until his blood returned to claim it."

What Znnjzu was communicating was astounding. If Dagen had physically produced their 'creator's creator', then for them it had only been two generations since Dagen had teleported onto his ship -- the same we had arrived in -- and jumped away to parts anew.

I didn't know exactly how many years ago the original war had occurred, but it was probably somewhere in the hundreds of thousands, which meant the Jzu Krrm had a lifespan of at least tens of millennia.

Perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised, given that they were basically made out of rock and some kind of energy field. They wouldn't live and die the same way as everything made of organic matter would, but ... the idea of anything surviving that long was hard to fathom.

"Then you have waited for me, to be united again." Yugan stepped forward, then crouched lower, so he was nearer to Znnjzu, and much closer to the same height. "I am relearning what was lost, but there is too much I do not understand. I would ask you teach me." With care, he reached out his superior right hand, and touched Znnjzu's nearest leg joint, where it connected to the bodily core. The claws clicked lightly on the hard surface, and there was a hint of odd emotion in the Mishith expression that I didn't quite understand, the fingertip contacting a stretch of smooth crystal. "If you may permit it."

"I will grant you knowledge." The Jzu Krrm's humming language continued in a musical burble that felt somehow calming to hear. "But not until Dagen speaks first. I will refuse unless he keeps his promise."

There was a moment of silence while Yugan digested this information, but then he said: "I believe Dagen does not wish to talk."

"He will." Znnjzu's counter was just a simple statement, the Jzu Krrm seeming to be as blunt as they were careful, and the speech altered to directly admonish the quantum personality within. "Do not hide behind your descendent, Dagen. Keep your word."

The subtle change came over Yugan, and it was evident in his voice, and a shift in posture that I barely noticed as Dagen took over.

[ They do not need to know this now. It is not required for our victory, and I made no promise to divulge such that you demand. ]

"You claimed they would be informed. Victory will be hollow if they are unaware of their heritage until after. I keep your memory and your emotions. It is one gift of many that unification with the Mishith gave the Jzu Krrm. If we are to be joined again, I will not deny them their history. Neither will you."

Watching the slender less-than-four-foot crystal-and-metal Jzu Krrm tell off the imposing physically-robust spirit-possessed Mishith was not a sight I ever expected to see. The image was so absurd that I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing.

Best not. I don't think that'd be polite.

From next to me, both Mira and Elia walked forward too, moving either side of Yugan.

[ Znnjzu is correct. We owe them that. They must know what they were. ] Kirak spoke through Mira, and her language in his voice evoked a thrill of nerves in me, having never seen him controlled as both Yugan and I had been. It was that rush of excitement from his voice aloud, mixed with the oddness of the alien words and cadence.

[ What they will be again. ] Kelor echoed her sister, through Elia. [ We must give them this much, without reservation. It is selfish to keep a fundamental insight to ourselves, when that knowledge underlies the heart of our civilisation's very existence. ]

"Argumentation is pointless." The Jzu Krrm added to their statements, the response implacable and clearly uninterested in compromise. "Did not your foreseeing power inform you of this moment?"

[ It did. ] Dagen's frustration was palpable through the vocal tone. [ However, there was a small chance that you might not insist, but my brother's mate and her sister are stubbornly noble in most futures. Thus I cannot escape it. ] He gave a throaty rumble of reluctant acceptance. [ Very well. They will learn how two became one, and the last questions of the Sundering will be answered. This I will reveal. ]

With that, Yugan stood fully upright, still under Dagen's control, and gave a command to the AI.

[ Serin, unlock the archival history that I sealed, and begin projection. ] He gestured wide with all four arms, the attention of Mishith, Jzu Krrm, and human all now completely centred on him, if it had not been before. [ Here begins a fresh lesson, and may wisdom abound from it. ]

The holographic emitters blinked and imagery began to display.

[ So be it. ]

-o-0-O-0-o-

Long ago, before the end of the great war, we found a life-bearing world of great vitality.

The Earth, a globe suspended in space's vacuum, turning with the days passing.

The early humans we witnessed were alike many species already observed. We catalogued intelligent races from afar, and each differed in body, in mind, in the means of their development. Yet, common to all was the same inherent possibility for greatness.

The planetary surface, with groups of roving humans carrying stone age weapons, and with basic nomadic trappings about them. Spread far apart, on plains, in deserts and grasslands, crossing rivers. Hunting, gathering, migrating with the seasons and where the land's abundance was best.

However, I understood that within the chance discovery of the human homeworld, and through the study of the primitive inhabitants, we had found a singular opportunity.

Within humanity was the chance to avert cosmic disaster.

Within humanity was the latent potential to become ... like us.

Another different world, green-grey and turquoise, wreathed in alien constructions; cities, space facilities, orbital megastructures, transiting vessels.

And another, brown and blue, with a smattering of settlements and departing ships.

And another, yet different again, heavily populated, the developed urban intercut with swathes of arboreal perfection and untouched mountain ranges.

And another, and yet another, and faster they came, each world an image of advanced society at the pinnacle, each a refined creation of Dagen's people.

More and more, faster and faster, the pictures blurred until they were a flicker of images.

Hundreds of worlds.

Thousands.

Perhaps more.

Every one of them a home to millions -- or billions ­­-- of the progenitor Mishith.

Yet, in the beginning, we were ... like you.

Though we spread further through the stars than any here yet comprehend, our origins are far from the grand spectacle of interstellar civilisation.

No, it was before the myriad of worlds were settled.

It began when -- like the human race -- the most distant ancestors of the Mishith emerged from the oceans on our birth planet.

A final world, this one with the atmosphere tinged magenta. Blanketed in a wide variety of biomes, from frozen to tropical, desert to heavily forested, swamps and marsh to hills and glaciated peaks, it was as ecologically diverse and habitable as Earth.

The Mishith hearth world.

It took hundreds of millions of cycles before we evolved the size and intelligence necessary to challenge the other dominant species.

A small furred herbivorous forager, with four limbs, and eight eyes, scampering between the trees at the slightest alarm, an alien marmoset.

Then, larger and heavier, but still agile, a trotting ungulate hyena-like with shortened secondary grasping arms and six smaller eyes; omnivorous, a tree climber.

Then again, a hunched five-foot upright mammalian, more felinoid in face, the eyes reduced to four, now two legged and further evolved into dual arm pairings. A pack creature, following the rudiments of a social structure that hinted what they were to become.

The proto-Mishith.

When we reached a physical stature little less than what you see today, the Mishith had become a tribal race.

Like humans, we coalesced and separated into different ethnic strands.

Like humans, we generated thousands of irregular languages and local practices.

There was no single culture, nor any unified philosophy.

Apart from the underlying genetic inheritance, the concept of 'Mishith' and even the word itself did not then exist.

A slightly smaller variation, around seven feet, of the contemporary breed. In guise after guise, wearing different garments and baubles, some travelling as human nomads might, some roving from fixed abodes, hunting in groups.

Building early types of agriculture, venturing in crude boats onto the waters to fish with spear. Fields of cultivation; alien grain plants, strange fruits, exotic vegetable crops. Skewered amphibians and piscine shapes, strung on ropes for ease of transport.

Riding domesticated galloping mounts, sturdy tusked creatures with great stamina. Stabbing at the flanks of colossal grazing beasts as they thundered over vast plains and splashed through estuaries. Driving headlong into waving lavender grass and sparkling cerulean rivers alike in pursuit of the hunt.

Like humans, our tribes melded over time into larger collections, and nations spawned from the shared identity of language and tradition.

Yet, there we diverged. For most unlike humans, we did not resolve any dispute, be it between individuals or the collected wills of many, through conflict.

Human history, from tribes to nations, is filled with periods of war, repression, and infighting.

For the Mishith, this was not the way. We do not kill, but out of necessity. We do not steal, as greed is personal selfishness. Our nature abhors the concepts of murder, rape, and slavery.

Every emerging nation held some variation of these values, for so deeply ran our cultural roots into our very biological evolution that it was apparent in all branches of every lineage.

Thus, after hundreds of cycles coexisting and peacefully interacting, the varying states came together. At first, to area and regional entities, then continental. Lastly, there was a global consolidation as those powers joined, with a common prevailing language, laws, and heritage.

This was when the Mishith, as a term and as an idea, became true.

In location after location, envoys meeting, speaking, trading.

Within constructions of stone and wood, increasing in complexity and quality as time progressed. Walking together in the open, through magenta-tinted gardens, in robes and leathers, silky materials and thick insulating fabrics.

Diplomats, leaders, ambassadors and counsellors.

Talking, debating, bartering, brokering exchanges.

Inscribing treaties, codifying agreements, legitimising articles of union.

Some five hundred cycles later, our civilisation had emerged through the industrialisation phase and entered that of electronics and accelerated scientific advance. In this time, the Mishith were exploring the last untouched bastions of our world: the deepest of the oceans and the lowest of cave systems.

It was in the latter that we made a discovery that would alter the course of the future.

A pair of Mishith speleologists, with headlamps, climbing equipment, water-resistant clothing, crouching next to a crystalline formation. Talking animatedly with each other, gesturing to the creature in front of them, light and energy playing across its surface.

First encounter.

It took concentrated study to learn that the emanations from the creatures were a language. It took longer still to find a basis to translate the signals to a shared comprehension, but once we did, we spoke to them. We had many questions, and they were willing to provide answers.

Here, the vision shifted, concentrating on the Jzu Krrm as they conversed with the attending Mishith scientists, an introductory opening communication.

In place of Dagen, Znnjzu continued, the narration transitioning to him in a mirror of the shared understanding.

The Mishith history is old and their memory is deep, but they are organic. Their recollection of the past fragments into tale and myth as cycles go by.

The Jzu Krrm do not forget in the same manner. Knowledge is imprinted from creator to subject. Every generation retains at least the heart of what came before. Even today, we carry the oldest memories of our kind, though they are difficult to recall in detail.

The same planetary surface, but a sea of molten rock and volcanic activity.

In the indigo sky, dimmer sunlight from a not-yet fully coalesced parent star, filtered through the hazy smoke-filled void of a weak atmosphere.

Billions of years ago.

We are inorganic. Evolution is not possible for us as it is for organics. We do not know how the spark of our consciousness began. What we can say is the homeworld was only liquid fire, ash, smoke, and sunlight, when we awoke.

Though the Jzu Krrm were born on the planetary exterior through some chance meshing of energy and elemental compounds, we could not stay there. The changing conditions of a young world were hazardous.

So, we divided and sought safety.

In many snatches of vision, entering caves. Most new, freshly created, the rock barely millions, sometimes merely thousands of years old.

Venturing further, slow plodding steps, a soft glow of sentient activity the only thing illuminating the surrounding as they descended underground.

There we settled. There we stayed.

There were only five locations beneath the ground where we first established ourselves. At these places, we slept. We only woke to feed, to move if needed, and to fashion our descendents and impart them life as each elder spark diminished.

By the time the surface had cooled, we had restructured our forms from the basic of our genesis, to what you see now. Our version of evolution was chosen and purposeful, to be as efficient and optimal as possible for what we were.

A core that contains conductive material to house our intellect.

The central mass, where the Jzu Krrm's mind was.

Beyond that, a sheathing of harder inert material to protect from damage. Then, upon the upper side, growths that serve the purpose of sense and respiration.

As sensors, they have the ability to detect and emit radiant forms, such as light, electricity, and acoustics.

As respirators, they have the ability to absorb some of those same radiant types, which can then be converted to power metabolic processes. Principally, we use sunlight and the planetary magnetic field as sources of sustenance. Similarly, we may extend feeder roots into connected inorganic material, and leach appropriate minerals for storage, refinement, and structural alteration.

Lastly, five extendable supports. Our movement is generated by microvibrations, created through rapid electrical pulsation. Our specialised joints gain cohesion as a result of these targeted impulses, and are able to be adjusted for locomotion.

The legs, the mystery of their animation explained.

It was millions of cycles after that we began to travel again, when it was safer. From the five homes, many departed to seek new cave refuges. There were still dangers; acid rain, giant storms of lightning and wind, active vents of corrosive liquids and burning rock. Many more colonies were made, far and wide across the surface.

Gradually, the conditions stabilised. We wandered the world for millions of cycles more, now with no concern. It was peaceful; the skies clear, the waters calmer, the ground much more still.

Then, we saw the signs of organic life appear.

Fungi, moss, the first basic clinging plants along the ocean's edge.

Tiny swimming creatures, to begin with, like tadpoles.

Then clambering shore-dwellers and fish proper.

Grasses, spreading vines, shrubs.

Trees. Insects. Land walkers. Primitive avians.

Larger creatures; mammal and reptile equivalents. Bigger and more complex herbivore and carnivore variants.

The Jzu Krrm cannot be predated upon by any organic species. Our bodies are unsuited for consumption. Unless we show signs of animate behaviour within the presence of an organic, they will not even recognise us as alive.

However, the curiosity of animal instincts and the prevalence of organic life made accidental and unintentional damage far more likely.

So, again, we retreated into our colonies and hid, resting for however many millions of cycles it would take until the age of organic life was tolerable.

Yet, the Mishith discovered us first.

They learned our language, and we realised when they spoke to us, that we were not the sole intelligent race.

They heard our voice, saw what we were, and they understood our limitations.

So they showed us all the wonders of their world.

Everything that we could never have experienced.

A flurry of images, all Mishith and Jzu Krrm together.

Mountains, oceans, cities, farmlands, forests, rivers, monuments of engineering, technology, art, science.

Artificial, natural.

The beginnings of exploration into space.

We were freed from our need to hide and sleep indefinitely. We had found a friend who had given to us with no expectation of reward.

Yet, we were determined to return this benevolence, and we did so with information.

The Mishith scientists were most skilled in biology, and were true experts in managing the planetary ecosphere. While we knew little of that, we did have knowledge of the earth. Once we had learned how their methods and investigative practices worked, we told them all we could about the planet itself.

About the universe, as we could perceive it in ways they could not.

Within the span of a few dozen cycles, we had advanced their fields of material and inorganic science, energy and radiation manipulation, by tenfold.

The combination of expertise allowed for the construction of vessels that could undertake the first interplanetary voyages within the solar system.

Rudimentary spacecraft, in a modular quad-wing design that seemed scarcely different from early human attempts, arriving at a small rocky world.

Then again at an ice giant, much further out.

Then ... another star.

Together, the sharpened intellects of the Jzu Krrm and the creative curiosity of the Mishith managed an interstellar journey.

But, our alliance ran into the same obstacle that all advancing species eventually reach.

The ability to influence fundamental forces allows a means to travel the cosmos, but there are prohibitive barriers in the form of physical constants. Even gravitational singularity technology, the same such as humanity has developed, has limitations.

The Mishith wished to create a true interstellar federation free of all restrictions, but they could not see the defining cosmic factor that was inhibiting it.

The Jzu Krrm could.

When this technological impasse was reached, it took some communication between our two species to realise that we could perceive something that they could not.

There was an aspect of the universe itself that the Mishith simply had no awareness of at all.

It was not just them.

Later, we would learn that it is the same for all organics, everywhere. Each alien race encountered, humans included, is incapable of discerning what the Jzu Krrm do.

This unknowable quality was described by us as a formless scalar conversion interchange of energy-matter that permeates the universe in an undetected uniform field.

The Mishith had no concept of it.

Humanity knows it only as the unexplained twin phenomena of dark matter and dark energy.

The Jzu Krrm wished to give the Mishith the ultimate gift for every kindness they had shown us. We wished to give them the understanding that we alone possessed, that their aspirations might become real.

We told them we would do all we could to enlighten them.

The response we received was unexpected.

They had an idea that offered much more.

There, Znnjzu's narration ended, and Dagen began to speak again.

Though the Jzu Krrm were sincere, the Mishith of the time understood that what they suggested was impossible. Transliterating that type of scientific knowledge across the void of imperception was unmanageable.

Instead, another way was imagined.

An image of the average Mishith individual, seven and a half feet tall, standing in a natural posture; four arms, four eyes, robust and intelligent.

A species of blood and bone, of creativity and freedom, of emotion and empathy.

An image of the average Jzu Krrm individual, four feet tall, also standing in a natural posture; five legs, a central core, stoic and unique.

A species of stone and metal, of patience and deliberation, of discipline and wisdom.

Between them, a flickering ghost without fixed shape and size.

The gift of Jzu Krrm knowledge was so precious it could only be accepted if the Mishith gave something of equal value.

In exchange, the inorganic would gain what the organic already had: the ability to explore and experience emotion.

The proposal was to physically unify the two species into a single hybrid.

The Mishith would benefit from the matchless cognition and sense of the Jzu Krrm mentality.

The Jzu Krrm would benefit from the physical power, mobility, innovation, and sentiment of the Mishith existence.

The process of both agreeing to and engineering the mesh of carbon and silicon life was difficult and slow, taking more than a hundred cycles to fully complete in a manner acceptable to all concerned.

However, it was successful.

The hybrid was born.

The morphing phantom image solidified. Over twelve feet tall, it was the same shape as the original Mishith form, but scaled up. On certain sections of the skin, from legs to torso, chest, feet, hands, there was a flexible metallic covering that alternated with the original leathery hide. Veins of crystalline transmissible material ran in symmetrical lines from the head to toe, following the extremities. Small rocky growths, a mix of crystal and other metals, were also present on the shoulder, elbows, wrists, knees, ankles, and other jointed sections seemingly at random.

The veins converged at either temple, in luminous seams that went within the skull and branched into a glassy agglomeration covering the outer ear. Tiny protruding crystals sprinkled the forehead and around the eyes, like scattered diamonds and sapphires. The hair, already stiff and fibrous, seemed even more rigid, imbued with a metallic sheen that hinted at a changed composition.

Two together, in combination greater than the parts preceding.

A union that gave us everything.

So began our ascent, as a new dominion of blood and stone.

-o-0-O-0-o-

The holography faded, first the two peripheral images, then the hybrid itself.

[ Before the Sundering, our people were neither Mishith nor Jzu Krrm. We were both. ] He turned to look over the three assembled species. [ We were hybrids and it was through that fusion our civilisation achieved all that it did. What you have witnessed is a product of that choice -- a choice that must be made again if life is to survive. ]

"How? Where must we go?" Ralot posed the question. "What has the means to repeat this unification?"

[ Follow where I travelled. There is only one place where the hybrid can be reproduced, that was untouched by the war. I was upon that path when I died, though not for entirely the same reasons. Regardless, you must go there. ]

With that, he looked to Znnjzu.

[ Does this satisfy you? I can say no more. ]

The Jzu Krrm responded with a brief glimmer of light and a single tone.

"Yes."

"Wait." I called out to the still-possessed Yugan, drawing Dagen's attention. "Didn't your hybrid race have a name? You were something else, right? You wouldn't have said you were Mishith or Jzu Krrm, so what did you call yourselves?"

There was a long pause, and it seemed unfathomable, the Mishith stare judging what to say, and if to speak it.

Then, finally, he answered.

[ We called ourselves after our parents. In our language, it is both names as one: the Energy of the Crystalline Soul. We were the best of both halves. You may know us now as we were known to all protectorates and species under our guardianship, through the millennia preceding the great war to our beginning. ]

He nodded, and bowed his head.

[ We are the Jasu Kirmith. ]